Dudley's Weekly Word

Posts Tagged with "1 Peter"

Everyone wants to be blessed. The problem is that we often view blessings as our gain at other’s loss. We are blessed if we win the lottery. Of course, that means that everyone else did not, and we got their money. We even tend to think that for God to bless us, others must not be blessed. And even further, we begin to feel that we are only blessed when we have more good things happening to us than are happening to others....

In marriage, the role of the husband is different from that of the wife, but the perspective and attitude are the same. Peter’s use of “likewise” or “in the same way” is common to both his instructions to the wife and to the husband and is probably referring to 2:13 where believers are exhorted to place their explicit trust in God by properly submitting to his delegated authority structures....

Since the new order has been launched in the resurrection of Jesus, every aspect of life is affected, including marriage. As all married people know, marriage can turn out to be not only different than expected, but difficult to navigate. For marriage to be anything like what God intended in the beginning, we need a new perspective. Peter is describing that new perspective in this whole section of his letter. He has already said that we have been freed and empowered to submit to God’s order by honestly respecting the delegated authority structures that allow society to function best. But just exactly how does the resurrection of Jesus affect the wife’s role in marriage?...

Peter is not trying to alarm his readers by prophesying the end of time as we know it. Rather, he is alerting them to the special nature of the time in which they (and we) live.
We are privileged to live in the aftermath of God’s great intervention in history. Jesus has come to fulfill the promises of the Old Testament, and we are those who are joint heirs with him. W...

We are different from the world’s kind of people. Those who have not yet been immersed into the community of “in Christ” people are still striving to prove their point by showing how inconsistent the Christians are. It is true that when we react to attacks like they do, we are revealing that we aren’t much different except on Sundays when we go to church and they d...

Everyone wants to be blessed. The problem is that we often view blessings as our gain at other’s loss. We are blessed if we win the lottery. Of course, that means that everyone else did not, and we got their money. We even tend to think that for God to bless us, others must not be blessed. And even further, we begin to feel that we are only blessed when we have more good...

In marriage, the role of the husband is different from that of the wife, but the perspective and attitude are the same. Peter’s use of “likewise” or “in the same way” is common to both his instructions to the wife and to the husband and is probably referring to 2:13 where believers are exhorted to place their explicit trust in God by properly submitting to his de...

Since the new order has been launched in the resurrection of Jesus, every aspect of life is affected, including marriage. As all married people know, marriage can turn out to be not only different than expected, but difficult to navigate. For marriage to be anything like what God intended in the beginning, we need a new perspective. Peter is describing that new perspective...

The first readers of Peter’s letter might have been wondering if God’s favor was really upon them. After all, they were being persecuted for their faith. The new kingdom they had embraced upon hearing the gospel was not all tea and roses. They had come to realize that hostile powers were aligned against God’s established king and his people. Probably some had mocked ...

Last week we saw the reality of being stalked, and the necessity of resisting Satan. One of his main tactics is to interpret circumstances in such a way as to misrepresent God’s intention and involvement in our lives....

We have all watched the scary movies where a party is going on with everyone laughing and having a carefree time, yet a menacing bad guy is watching, waiting for the opportunity to pounce on some unsuspecting victim. We want to scream out, “Watch out! There is danger lurking!” Well, Peter does warn us all that there is a stalking enemy out there just looking for someon...

Those properly dressed in God’s kingdom are wearing humility. They are not competing for attention and vying for position. They have come to know a Father who is so big that they are not tempted to suppress themselves. Many trying to look humble are busy beating themselves down in order for God to be noticed. That is evidence of having a small God. Humanity does not have...

Peter is an elder himself who has witnessed the glory of Christ and the suffering that comes from partaking of life with him. He is well aware of the commission he was given by the resurrected Lord after breakfast by the sea. Remember! He had promised to stand with Jesus no matter what but had failed miserably on the night of the betrayal. Jesus had confronted him over bre...

Many lessons have used this text to promote the idea that the end of the world was upon us. Since Peter wrote this prior to 70 AD, we would have to say he was wrong if, in fact, he was saying that. It has been 2000 plus years, and the earth is still here. Peter is telling his readers and us that everything that needed to be done had been done for God’s narrative to reach...

In our culture, comfort and ease are valued so highly that the very thought of suffering as a normal part of life is unthinkable. In fact, too often the message coming from Christian leaders makes a mockery of suffering and categorizes it as outside of personal faith. Many people try to believe that they can live without suffering and still be faithful witnesses of God’s...

Christians are participants in the new creation, radically born again of the imperishable seed of God’s word. They have been separated for his possession and use in this world. They are filled with light and are placed in the midst of darkness. They are often broken so the light is seen by those walking in darkness. They embrace this calling and are ready to give an answ...

When bondage masquerades as liberty we must be on alert in order to escape the trap. It usually occurs when we have incorrectly identified our captors. If we think that our problem is authority or even rules, we will define liberty in terms of being out from under authority and beyond rules. Many have celebrated their presumed liberation only to find themselves deeper in b...

Peter’s instructions regarding how to live in a culture that is hostile to the Gospel includes how believers are to respond to governmental structures that often put pressure on the Christian worldview. Peter reminds them and us that God has instituted certain structures in society and that submission to those God-ordained authorities is submission to God himself. The ci...

It has been established that we are set apart to represent our Lord on this earth. We have been forgiven and cleansed by an act of unmatched mercy. We have been identified as his people on earth. We have been born again of the imperishable seed of his word. Our purpose is to reveal what free living looks like. We are not only free from the enslaving power of sin, but we ar...

The distinguishing feature of God’s people is that they are objects of mercy and reflections of mercy. No person really knows God personally if he or she has not cried out for mercy. People don’t become living stones in the living temple of God until they have faced their own desperate need of forgiveness. We are dead in trespasses and sins. We are blind to a true pers...

Writing to a group of scattered Christians who had no real identity in their culture, Peter emphasizes who these people really are. They were rejected by the Jewish community because their Savior was the same Jesus that was rejected by the Jewish system. The secular culture viewed them as some kind of strange sect that was neither Jewish nor pagan. They were followers of a...

Jesus is offensive to those who have refused to respond to the previous revelations of God given through creation, conscience, and scripture. It is truly remarkable that mankind could be so blind as not to see the beauty of God in all that is around us. Yet, we are reminded daily that Jesus is rejectable. Believers should be overwhelmed with the mercy shown to us in openin...

We were made to worship! It is the reason for our existence. It is the only way we find our purpose, and it is the epitome of our delight. Adam and Eve worshipped God at all times. They adored him and obeyed him as they enjoyed his fellowship. It was in an act of worship that Cain became angry and killed his brother. When humans have gone astray, they have done so by worsh...

The nature of this magnificent salvation that former prophets inquired about and angels long to see is one of ever approaching grace. It is the continual progressive revelation of Christ and his rule now and forever. The prophet Daniel had dreams about the various kingdoms in history, culminating with the establishment of God's kingdom through his people on earth. The ston...

Someone recently referred to the time of his death as being when he would get his harp and wings. It is a common euphemism but does not reflect the Bible's evaluation of us. We have never been angels. (Even our mothers can agree with that!) We shall never be angels. We are the unique image-bearers of God himself. The blood of God's Son has redeemed us, and that doesn't app...

One taste of the kind of goodness found in God is enough to motivate one to do whatever is necessary to get more. Those who find it a chore to drink of the pure spiritual milk must not have tasted the goodness or they have somehow forgotten how it taste....

Many people are tired of their enslavement. It is true also that many are not. They have denied their condition and bristle at the suggestion that they are being deprived of a world of delight by holding on to their own bondage. But the ones who admit that they are tired have had enough of the fears that paralyze them, the addictions that drive them, the obsessions that ha...

Christians have long debated what it means to fear God. Some view him as the strict judge who is keeping a detailed record of all our misdeeds, and so they are almost paralyzed in fear of doing something wrong. Others emphasize the bigness of God and say that we are to live with a sense of awe, but not to fear any repercussions for our actions. Peter gives us some clarity:...

The way we sang the old hymn Holy, Holy, Holy in the little Baptist church of my upbringing didn't bring to mind visions of fun and adventure. It felt more like suppression and boredom. I'm absolutely sure it was my perspective rather than the merits of the music or the lyrics, but the idea of "holiness" did not appeal to me. Evidently it doesn't to many others as well. To...

We are familiar with the statement of Paul that we have all sinned and have come short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). What glory have we come short of? It is the glory that God designed humans to have in the beginning. It is the glory of trusting God as his partner and image bearer on earth. Mankind is most honored when they are living in total trust toward God. There ...

The salvation that has been revealed through Jesus Christ is of such a nature that the majestic angels would love to look into it, but can't. What is so intriguing to the angels? Aren't they the mighty beings of heaven that have access to realities that we can't see? Aren't they more powerful than even our imaginary superheroes of today? What is so grand about the salvatio...

Christians who are under pressure because of their unfriendly culture need to hear that God is not only their comforter, but also their source. They do not need to be so focused on their efforts that they forget his. They are not breathlessly trying to get to heaven or be heavenly on this earth as much as they are the beneficiaries of God's mercy. Before they got here, God...

We don't pay much attention to salutations now. It is just a formality that we glance at as we move quickly into the content of the correspondence. Biblical writers viewed it with much more appreciation. In this case, Peter is speaking over his readers the blessing given in the gospel he is advocating....

Peter is giving scattered first century believers reason to hope even though they are surrounded by a hostile culture. He establishes for them the truth about who they are and what has happened to them as they embrace the gospel. It is fantastic what has happened to them. It started long before they ever decided to believe. God the Father loved them and chose them to be hi...

Alan Wright has wisely instructed us to get accustomed to living as missionaries in our own nation. Increasingly, the prevailing culture is becoming more hostile to the values of the gospel community. We can spend our time pining over the losses we have incurred morally, or we can take courage from the testimony of the early church that lived in the midst of cultures that ...